Photograph of Billy the Kid sells for $2.3 million in Denver

The only authenticated photograph, the famous Upham tintype, of Billy the Kid (aka William Bonney and William Henry McCarty) up for auction at Brian Lebel's 22nd Annual Old West Show & Auction in the Denver Merchandise Mart in Denver, Colorado June 25, 2011. The 130-year-old tintype photograph is considered the most recognizable photo of Billy the Kid in existence. It was estimated to sell for between $300,000 and $400,000, but it ended up going for $2.3 million.

Mark Leffingwell / Reuters

Potential bidder Mike Jensen peers closely at the only authenticated photograph, the famous Upham tintype, of Billy the Kid (aka William Bonney and William Henry McCarty) up for auction at Brian Lebel's 22nd Annual Old West Show & Auction, in the Denver Merchandise Mart in Denver, Colo., June 25.

Private collector and American businessman William Koch purchased the photograph. His collections include art, wine and maritime memoribilia. Koch purchased four bottles of wine in 1985 that were supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson, but Koch claims that they are fakes and has sued the Christie's auction house. You can read more about the suit here, and you can read more about the auction of the Billy the Kid photograph here.